1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic brake alarm, and more particularly to a hydraulic brake alarm which will warn the driver that the brake shoe has a fault or is worn excessively.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional brake assembly is shown in FIGS. 7-9. Referring to these drawings, a brake (20) has a reservoir (21) containing brake fluid to function as the means of transmitting the force applied to the brake pedal (310) to the master cylinder in the brake. A lever (31), which has a pedal (310) on an end thereof, is pivotally mounted on a frame (30). A driving bar (32) is mounted on the bottom of the lever (31) and coupled with the brake (20). A plate (33) is formed on a side of the lever (31). A switch (40) having an extensible rod (41) received therein is disposed on the frame (30) and is above the lever (31). The switch (40) is electrically connected with brake warning-lights (not shown) of a vehicle. Normally, when the brake (20) is not in use, the plate (33) holds the rod (41) in the switch (40).
When a driver presses the pedal (310) to slow or stop the vehicle, the plate (33) will move downwards. Therefore, the rod (41) will extend out to turn the switch (40) "ON" when the plate (33) separates from the rod (41) that follows the downward movement of the pedal (310), so that the brake warning lights are lit.
However, if the reservoir (21) has a leak or the brake shoes have been worn excessively, the driver must press the pedal (310) harder so as to move the lever (31) farther to achieve the desired result. In this case, it is required to examine and the brake (20) and reservoir (21) and take appropriate remedial action. Because drivers generally ignore brake maintenance because of a lack of knowledge or time or possibly because of laziness, the brake (20) will be damaged more and more until the brake (20) completely fails.
There are still ways of providing warning signals to drivers, such as two indicating lamps provided in the dashboard of the vehicle, wherein a first indicating lamp shows the fluid level in the reservoir (21), and a second indicating lamp shows the state of the brake shoe. When there is a fluid leak, the first indicating lamp will be lit. When the brake shoe is worn excessively, the second indicating lamp will be lit. Although the indicating lamps can show states of the reservoir and the brake shoes, it is difficult for the driver to look at the dashboard while driving, so that any fault in the brake assembly may not be noticed.
Therefore, the present invention provides an audible hydraulic brake alarm, which can warn the driver that the brake has a fault, to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.